Planning Your Research
Kristin Van Diest and Tricia Boucher
Learning Objectives
- Get started with library research
- Discover tools to organize your research
- Explore our primary resources
- Learn more about institutional resources
Getting Started
Library research is where most researchers start, collecting articles and information for their literature reviews.
Research Help
Want a refresher on library database search techniques? Choose from the interactive tutorials on our Research Tutorials page. You can start at the beginning, or click through the side navigation to find the boxes that help you best – and will level up your searching to find and sort through relevant information quickly and easily.
Having trouble finding the resources you need, finding the full text of an article, or finding the expert who can help? Ask Us! You can chat, email, or set up a one-on-one research consultation with a librarian or specialist who can help you.
Targeting journals
When planning your research, it is important to start thinking about where you would like to publish. If you aim to publish your research academically, then you will want to choose the journal(s) you’d like to publish in and review their publishing guidelines, scope, and policies to ensure that they align both with your research and with your personal ethics. For example, are you comfortable publishing in a journal that will retain the rights to your manuscript? Or that charges readers exorbitant fees to access your work? Are you publishing for tenure purposes or to make the greatest impact in your field? It is a good idea to think about your personal publication ethics before choosing, therefore you can identify journals that align with your views.
Visit the library’s Where to Publish Your Research? guide to learn more.
Note: it is important to be weary of predatory publishers as you start your research. Predatory publishers are seeking to profit off of you and your work, not further scholarly research. It can be tricky to determine whether or not a journal is safe for you to publish in. In general, if you see these things, you should be sure to double check the journal or get a second opinion before engaging with them:
- Manuscript solicitation via email
- High article processing fees
- Extremely fast peer-review period
- Short time to publication
- Unclear or unethical author’s rights
Be sure to check the journal name in a reputable source, such as the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) for open access publications, or Ulrich’s Periodical Directory for other journals. Note: Ulrich’s must be accessed through the University Libraries website. It can be found in the list of databases, and is listed as Ulrichsweb.
One recent trend to keep in mind is that at many higher education institutions, the library is operating as a scholarly publisher. This is particularly true for open access scholarly journals. If you find an open access journal that you would like to publish in, and you notice that it is published through a university or college with a good reputation, you should feel safe to submit your manuscript. You can view a list of featured journals published through Texas State University Libraries here.
Finally, consider publishing your manuscript in an open access repository or publication. You can learn more about this in the Publishing chapter of this book.
Systematic Reviews
Systematic reviews are a type of article that reviews a bunch of articles on a specific topic, and synthesizes it so you can see the most relevant information all in one place. Interested in completing a systematic review? Check out our Systematic Review Guide, and get equipped to organize your team and tackle the work!
Organizing Your Research
Library research – especially at your level – can become unwieldy. Use these tools to help you save and organize your library research.
Citation Managers
Citation managers are tools that help you collect and organize your citations and articles – and so much more! They can help “cite while you write”, and can generate your bibliography for you. Zotero is an open source citation manager, and the university provides free access to EndNote, and there are other free options to choose from. The initial learning curve can take a few minutes, but using a citation manager can save you a lot of time in the long run, so find the one that works best for you and work smarter, not harder!
Low-Tech Solutions
Not up for learning a citation manager right now? You can also create an notes spreadsheet in Excel – a very helpful tool when working alone or with a group. Provide columns for the citation, the permalink, page number, and any notes. The final column should be for the theme or topic of the notes you have. The nice thing about the topic column is that you can use the table “sort A->Z” function to organize that column by topic. Doing that organization in the notes spreadsheet will help organize your writing and brings all the notes on that topic to one place – making writing easier.
Data Management Plan
If you are working with data of any kind, it is best practice to create a data management plan before you get started. This is a simple, one to two page paper that describes how you will collect, manage, and preserve the data that you work with throughout your research.
At Texas State University, we can offer you access to DMPTool, a great resource that guides you step-by-step through the creation of your data management plan. DMPTool even has templates for common grant applications that will allow you to directly follow your funders guidelines.
You will learn more about data management throughout this book:
Researching with Primary Sources
Including primary sources in your research is a great way to incorporate original data or information. The Special Collections and Archives are home to a vast array of history, encompassing over 2300 linear feet of diverse materials. The archives offer opportunities for original research across every discipline.
Primary Source Research
Primary resources are records that provide first-hand testimony or evidence of an event, action, topic, or time period. Primary resources are usually created by individuals that directly experience an event or topic, and record their experience through photographs, videos, memoirs, correspondence, oral histories, autobiographies, or official organizational records.
There is no single ‘correct’ way to use primary sources in your research and there are many possibilities to explore. From using statistics to demonstrate trends, to exploring lived history through personal diaries and oral histories to a study of the design traditions of architecture and building layouts.
Exploring the Texas State University Special Collections & Archives
Finding Aids
Archival collections are organized into Finding Aids that you can browse to help narrow your topic or identify the materials you’d like to view onsite.
Digital Collections
The University Libraries are digitizing archival materials to make more available online. Many of our resources are in the Digital Collections.
Digital Exhibits
Learn more about topics related to Texas State University history and the history of the San Marcos community through curated digital exhibits. Interested in partnering with the SC&A team on a new digital exhibit? Or on using our digital exhibits platform in the classroom? Contact us for more information.
Reading Rooms
We have two reading rooms available for use when requesting archival materials. One, located at Alkek Library Room 204, is open to the public and staffed during open hours. The other, located at the Archives & Research Center (ARC), is closed to the public and available by appointment only.
To learn more about visiting our reading rooms or accessing our materials, please navigate to the Plan Your Visit webpage.
Quick Links
For more information about the Special Collections & Archives materials go to our Library Guide: Special Collections & Archives Library Guide
For quick facts about the University, like historical “firsts” or information about campus traditions and landmarks, visit the University’s guide: University History and Traditions
Institutional Resources
Research Offices
Division of Research
“The mission of the Division of Research at Texas State University is multifold, encompassing support for faculty, students, and sponsors to advance the shared objectives of knowledge creation and exchange through innovative, relevant, and impactful works.”
More information on how the Division of Research can support your research, visit the Division of Research website here.
Data, Analytics & Institutional Research
The office of Data, Analytics & Institutional Research serves as “the central hub for university data and analytics, we champion the use of data in strategic decision making to elevate student success and expand research and scholarly productivity at Texas State University.” They are available for both students, staff, and faculty in their research endeavors. They provide different types of trainings, including surveying, data literacy, and more.
View their webpage here: Data, Analytics & Institutional Research
IRB CITI Training
Ready to get started with your research project? If it includes human subjects at all, you will need IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval. More information on IRB can be found on the IRB page on the Division of Research website. And for most research, you (and your Principle Investigator) will need to be CITI certified to submit your proposal. To do this:
- Complete your CITI IRB training.
- The Division of Research has information on how to determine if an IRB is needed, and a request form for the Division of Research to assist in deciding if an IRB is needed. This is also called an IRB Determination.
- Learn more about each review process here.
- Ready to submit a proposal? Use these templates for your recruitment and consent forms.
- The Kuali platform is used to apply, and you can find more information via the Division of Research’s Apply page – including Kuali assistance and user guides.
Experts Directory
If you are still unsure of where or how to start your research, please reach out to one of our library experts. Contact information can be found here: University Libraries Advanced Consultations.
Grant Funding
University Libraries is also excited to partner with researchers as they pursue grant funding. University Libraries has a variety of resources from books to grant funding databases and curated lists if grant makers and funding institutions. You can delve into to some of the resources available via the Grant Funding Research guide.
Digging Deeper
- Visit our Research Tutorials Guide for more information on how to start your research with the library.
- Learn more about library initiatives, workshops, and news by visiting our Upcoming Events and Workshops page, or follow our blog: Library News & Information.
- Stay tuned for updates on how the library can help support you during the Systematic Review process.
Predatory publishers are seeking to profit off of you and your work, not further scholarly research. They will often email you soliciting your manuscript. If you see these things; high article processing fees, extremely fast peer-review period, short time to publication, unclear or unethical authors rights, you should be sure to double check the journal or get a second opinion before engaging with them.
Citation managers are tools that help you collect and organize your citations and articles.
A data management plan is simply a 1-2 page summary explaining how you are planning to manage the data gathered in the course of your research project. Most funding agencies are asking researchers to submit a data management plan as part of their grant application
